The latest crossing figures underscore just how far shipping activity through both chokepoints remains from pre-conflict norms, with Hormuz traffic in particular a shadow of the flows that once carried a fifth of the world's crude and gas. Even Friday's relative high of 19 vessels was still well short of anything resembling normal pre-war throughput, and the further drop to 10 on Saturday reinforces the fragility of any recovery narrative. Tankers running with AIS switched off point to elevated risk-avoidance behaviour among operators, which typically correlates with wider insurance costs and freight premiums. With the Houthi embargo on Saudi Arabia now compounding pre-existing Hormuz disruption, the risk of a prolonged, structurally lower throughput environment across both routes remains the dominant theme for energy traders, regardless of any diplomatic signals coming from Washington.----Earlier:Reports of Iran firing cruise missile at US oil tanker, also UK Navy reports incidentTrump claims Hormuz deal done, denuclearisation talks to start tomorrowMonths into the Iran war, the world's most critical oil chokepoints are still running at a fraction of their former capacity.Summary:Commodity vessel crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell to 18 on Sunday, down from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday according to Reuters reporting citing taanker tracxking firms. The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, opening a new front against the US and allies and expanding attacks beyond the GulfTwo tankers carrying Saudi crude exited the Red Sea over the weekend with their AIS transponders switched offHormuz Strait crossings fell to just 10 on Saturday, down sharply from Friday's 19, itself only the highest tally since mid-JulyThe UK Maritime Trade Operations has reported three further tanker attacks since SaturdayOnly one tanker, carrying Iranian LPG, made the Hormuz crossing on Sunday, while several VLCCs carrying Qatari and Das crude exited or entered the strait on FridayTanker traffic through two of the world's most critical oil chokepoints remains deeply depressed, shipping data showed Monday, months into a conflict that has fundamentally altered flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait.Commodity vessel crossings through Bab el-Mandeb fell to 18 on Sunday, down from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday, according to Kpler data. The decline follows the Houthis' declaration of a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, which opened a new front against the US and its allies in the Iran war and extended tanker attacks into waters beyond the Gulf. Two tankers carrying Saudi crude nonetheless exited the Red Sea over the weekend, both with their Automatic Identification Systems switched off, a common tactic among operators seeking to reduce their visibility to attackers, one bound for an undisclosed destination and the other headed to India.The picture at the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carried a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas before hostilities began, is starker still. Crossings fell to just 10 vessels on Saturday, down from 19 on Friday, a figure that itself represented only the highest daily tally since mid-July. Just one tanker, carrying liquefied petroleum gas loaded in Iran, made the Hormuz crossing on Sunday. The UK Maritime Trade Operations has reported three further tanker attacks in the strait since Saturday, adding to the risk premium facing operators still willing to run the route. A handful of very large crude carriers did exit or enter the strait on Friday carrying Qatari and Das crude, but the scale of activity remains a fraction of what the chokepoint handled before the war.Some vessels may have switched off their AIS systems and cannot immediately be accounted for, meaning the true scale of transiting traffic could be marginally understated. Even allowing for that, the broad picture from the data is unambiguous: both chokepoints remain far below the throughput levels seen before the outbreak of the Iran war, with attacks, embargo threats, and operator risk-avoidance combining to keep global energy shipping routes constrained even as diplomatic efforts toward de-escalation continue elsewhere. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.